Is it clipping? How to fix it without redoing everything?

A

athrun200

New member
I rush through the recording yesterday hoping that I could finish it by yesterday.
But when I do the mixing today, I discover that there are some clippings in the climax part of the harmonica audio.

How do I fix it without recording everything? I have tried to re-recording the clipping section only but it results in an imbalance of volume between the introduction part and climax part of the music.

Can I just tune the voice of everything down to prevent clipping?

I am new to Albeton 9 lite, I have attached mp3 and the screen shot in which the clippings occur.
 

Attachments

  • ??.JPG
    ??.JPG
    129.7 KB · Views: 198
Hi there.
There's nothing in that picture to tell you whether the recorded audio is clipped or not.
The visual waveforms can be zoomed and adjusted so they're not a reliable indicator.

While you were tracking you should have kept an eye on any peak/clip indicators that your preamp/interface has.
Also, assuming everything's at unity and you're not using any plugs yet, keep an eye on the meters in your DAW too.

If you play back your session now with the faders at unity and all effects bypassed, do the track show overs?
If so you've made a mistake and you're stuck with it, I'm afraid.

Whether it's audible or not is a different story so you might be able to just carry on, but just be aware in future. ;)
Does your DAW have a gain level that's pre effects+fader?
 
Steenamaroo said:
Does your DAW have a gain level that's pre effects+fader?
Click to expand...

I am not sure what is the meaning of "gain level that's pre effects+fader?"
I think there is no pre effects by scarlett 2i2 in which I am using.

I was busy looking at the score when recording, didn't notice the meter or else at all. Maybe I should memorize the score next time.
Thanks for you advice!
 
On a lot of DAW's, you can toggle between whether the metering is pre or post.

Also, had a thought that might help if the clipping is audible. Zoom in at the clipped part, copy just the clip and paste it to another track at the same edit point. Flip the phase on the pasted part and see if that makes it less audible.

It may help, it may not but worth a shot.
:)
 
I've checked, it seems my DAW (ableton 9 lite), do not have this function.
I am curious when do we need to use pre metering and when do we need post metering.
 
athrun200 said:
I am not sure what is the meaning of "gain level that's pre effects+fader?"
I think there is no pre effects by scarlett 2i2 in which I am using.

I was busy looking at the score when recording, didn't notice the meter or else at all. Maybe I should memorize the score next time.
Thanks for you advice!
Click to expand...

You don't need to watch the meters constantly. Just do a test recording and work out where you're peaking.
Perform as loud and as close as you're going to and make sure the meters don't go above -10 or so, so there's wiggle room.

Almost every time I do a sound check with someone they perform at half volume skying away from from the mic.
As soon as you hit record they move in and get louder. Don't mug yourself! :facepalm:


Don't worry too much about the pre/post thing. I'm just thinking if it's clipped, it's clipped.
If you keep everything simple (faders at infinity and no effects in the daw) and make sure your meters have plenty of room, there won't be a problem. :)

Read the link Massive posted. I guarantee it'll be very useful!
 
You have huge waves. I'm aware that your image may be skewed by some manipulation, but seriously, there's no headroom. This is digital. If you need cleaner sound, jump to 24bit and run with it, but leave some air gap above and below them waves...Bigger is not always better, and a harmonica climax can be completely ruined by bumping into that nasty buzz range.

Anyway, I'm going to assume your daw is decent and has some capabilities to deal with your problem. Since you re-recorded the zapped part, here's a simple solution: 1) Solo the harmonica parts: 2) select the regular part and look for a white line across the wave (from left to right). Grab that line and bring it down. When you play back, see if the balance is better between the regular and the climax. 3) Keep adjusting till you got it right. 4) Take the solo off and re-mix the harmonica up to the level it needs to be.
Actually, it looks like your dynamic line is red.

If your daw has overwritten the original climax and left you with a single track, you may need to use a cut tool to separate the climax from the original.

Hope this is clear and helpful! :D
 
I am the "ultra rookie" that the article is talking about, recording as loud as possible, hoping that the final product would be as loud as a commercial recording. :facepalm:
 
athrun200 said:
I've checked, it seems my DAW (ableton 9 lite), do not have this function.
I am curious when do we need to use pre metering and when do we need post metering.
Click to expand...

It has it, it is in the I/O area you have to select. In Ableton, if you look where you select the channel, that monitors your "raw" input.
 
BroKen_H said:
1) Solo the harmonica parts: 2) select the regular part and look for a white line across the wave (from left to right). Grab that line and bring it down. When you play back, see if the balance is better between the regular and the climax. 3) Keep adjusting till you got it right. 4) Take the solo off and re-mix the harmonica up to the level it needs to be.
Actually, it looks like your dynamic line is red.
Click to expand...

Didn't notice this function in ableton before, I was always wondering what does the red line mean. Thanks, learnt one more technique in ableton.
 
I haven't actually listened to this, but that really is your first step. Do you actually hear unwanted distortion in the mix? If so, there are a couple "fixes" that you might try.

The first, of course, would be to re-record. You did that, but now it's not as much louder than the other part as you'd like. Have you tried turning the other part down to make up for that difference? Or is there an actual change in timbre or feel to which you are objecting? Maybe you just need to re-track the entire thing. Whatever, re-tracking is by far the best solution, but sometimes we can't. What then?

You can try EQ. The part of clipping that is most offensive is the high frequency harmonics that are generated above and beyond the natural range of the instrument. Harmonica is mostly a midrange instrument, and you can often get away with rolling off a significant amount of treble. I'd probably just slap on a lowpass and slide the cutoff frequency down until the harshest distortion artifacts go away, then decide if it has lost too much zing or air or whatever. That will depend on what you're shooting for and what's going on around it.

The other option (and it's often used in conjunction with the last) is to distort it more. Add enough overdrive to the whole track that it sounds like you did it on purpose. It's pretty common to run a harmonica through a little tube amp and get some dirt. Not appropriate in all cases, but that again depends what you're shooting for and what else is happening in the mix.
 
Yeah, a little distortion on harmonica sounds pretty hot. Even if you fix the problem another way, you should try a simple amp sim, like Amplitube and get some dirt going on the climax at least to get it to grind into the forefront...Give that a listen and see what you think. The best way to set the level for harmonica (distortion level) is to go until you can actually hear it, then back up just a little. Don't slam it home, yer harmonica is not a rock god. Shoot for subtle. Some of the best mixing techniques are the ones where you can't really tell they're there until you bypass the effect. Then it's really obvious...
 
Sometimes a high pass filter will help as well. The clipped part is basically a square wave, which is alternating bursts of DC (0hz). That is what causes the harmonics, so a high pass can help.

This doesn't always work, but it doesn't cost anything and is worth a shot
 
Download the 30day trial of Sony Soundforge.

It has a clip restore device, might help.

Dave.
 
High frequencies should be recorded lower and low frequencies higher????!!!! Where did you come up with that?

Most things we record contain both, the ratio of low to high frequencies depends entirely on the sound being recorded.

Recording level is not frequency dependent.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top